Place Your Bets For the Gamble of Life
by KillingMyMind
Summary: Approximately 8,000 years ago- "I wouldn't be surprised if these creatures end up being the death of us," Ax sighed, concerned eyes staring down. "Nah, they're not smart enough, but if they do, I bet they'll end up destroying you, first," Bill said smugly as he and his companion surveyed the goings-on of the world from their vantage point. "I think I'll take that bet."
1. Chapter 1 The Silent Stranger

Obligatory Disclaimer- I, the author of this fanfic, do not now own, nor do I claim to have ever owned, any part of Gravity Falls. All credit for its creation goes to its creator- Alex Hirsch. And I suppose some credit has to fall on the backs of the powers that be at Disney. In summary- I don't own anything but the purely made up fiction contained herein. Got it?! Good!

 _A/N UPDATE!- This story will contain some Bill/Dipper fluff, so you have been warned! This is not a hard-core shipping, but it will be cute. :D_

 **Chapter 1**

 **The Silent Stranger**

 _Approximately 8,000 years ago-_

"I wouldn't be surprised if these creatures end up being the death of us," Ax sighed, concerned eyes staring down.

Humans hadn't been around for too long yet, maybe only a few hundred years. They had managed to increase in number quite quickly, though. And they were creative...and crafty...and could be downright sinful. Axolotl and his friend had taken to paying close attention to these humans. Both beings were interested in them for differing reasons, of course, but both were still wary of them and their capabilities, nonetheless.

"Nah, they're not smart enough, but if they do, I bet they'll end up destroying _you_ , first," Bill said smugly as he and his companion surveyed the goings-on of the world from their vantage point.

Axolotl was a spirit of jesting and general silliness that was all in fun, but also maintained harmony and order for creation. Conversely, Bill was a spirit of chaos and discord, and he was just plain annoying. They complimented each other, and the earth, perfectly, and so were generally always together. There were other beings of their type around, and they would keep company with them on occasion, but they enjoyed each other's friendship most.

Both stayed away from Lucifer, however. They knew getting involved with him would only lead to their own demise. When mankind was ultimately tricked by that malevolent serpent, an event leading to banishment from the perfect garden provided to them by the Creator, they had both looked at each other and exclaimed, "Point proven!" in unison.

"Oh, really? You think you're all that, do you? I think I'll take that bet." Axolotl gave Bill a friendly nudge with his broad tail.

"You're on, then, sucker!"

The only stipulation of their bet was that the winner would be able to choose when, and as what, the loser would return. Bill was confident that it would never happen, but wanted to humor his friend, so he agreed. He had a few choice things in mind for Axolotl if he were to win the bet. He had a sick sense of humor. Unbeknownst to him, Ax could have a messed up sense of humor, also. Bill would find out just how messed up in about 8,000 years.

Over the next several millennia, Bill would take full advantage of humans and their sinful desires, making deals with them that he knew they wouldn't be able to keep, and gaining power and control in the process. He kept the form the humans deified him as, a golden triangle with one eye. They called him a dream demon since he liked to mess with their minds, especially at night.

Axolotl remained more in the background of life, choosing to watch and study, helping out creation where he could with stability and order. His form was that of a salamander-like creature. He was also a golden yellow color with six bright orange, feathery, external gills that added to his comical appearance. He wasn't deified by people, and never showed himself to them. Ax was the smart one.

Life was good for the two beings, and Bill thought it was best for him, especially. He found out one day, however, that his good life was about to end, thanks to a particularly astute human and his family.

" _Stanley!"_

This was the last word spoken out of the, well, eye? of Bill Cipher. He didn't even have a mouth, let alone vocal chords. Nobody was quite sure how he spoke, though that was never a cause for disturbance among the people he came in contact with. No, Bill's lack of a mouth was usually the least of their problems. He knew how to handle humans; knew how to deal with them in more ways than one. That is, until he met the Pines family.

He never saw it coming. The all-powerful, all-seeing Bill Cipher, didn't know until it was too late. He had been tricked into entering the wrong mind; the mind of the five-fingered twin, the wrong twin. Before he was completely annihilated by the erasing of Stan's mind, however, realization struck him. He had lost the bet. There was only one thing he could do. Axolotl would have to bring him back, based on the merits of that bet.

" _If the day comes where a human has bested one of us, and you or I are at the brink of total obliteration, we simply need to call upon the other and our being will be saved,"_ he recalled Axolotl's words.

 _But what was that last part we agreed to... Aaagh! No time...!_ " _Axolotl! The time has come for me to burn! I invoke the power that I may return!"_ Bill managed to speak the words they had laid out so many millennia ago, just before the blue fire consumed him.

And then...blackness.

He was surrounded by what could only be described as a void. Nothingness was all around him, it was just black. There was no up or down, no anywhere. His consciousness was aware of the fact that he was alive, but not of much else. He couldn't see or hear or feel. He simply was...aware of his state of being. He had no sense of time, and so couldn't know how long he had been in this state, not that he cared because there were no longer any emotional feelings he could attach to.

The next thing Bill knew, he was opening a pair of eyes, gazing out into a dark sky littered with tiny pinpoint lights and a larger light that made a strange shape, almost like a sideways smile. He turned to one side and saw a staggered, shadowy outline where no more tiny lights could be seen. He turned the other way and saw another light, but it was a different color from the others, and bigger. It seemed to be attached to something, but his mind couldn't tell him yet what it was.

He could feel something cool and slightly wet under his fingers as he wiggled them around. It was soft, and could be easily picked out from where it was anchored. He rolled onto his side, bracing himself to stand upright, and realized the slightly wet stuff was all around him. It gave him a strange, but not unpleasing, sensation wherever it touched him.

As Bill began to stand, a heavy feeling came over him, like something was willing him to stay close to the ground. He finally got up on his feet, standing in one spot for a few moments to find his balance.

He turned his head again towards the shadows, and then back to the soft light in the opposite direction. Feeling the need to go in the direction that allowed him to see things, he opted for the light. On shaky legs, Bill managed to walk the 40 or so yards to the source of the light, but not without effort. Needing to rest, he noticed there was something under the light that looked big enough for him to lie down on. He sat on it, the surface giving way just slightly under him. It wasn't as hard as the ground, and also wasn't wet, so he decided to rest there.

When he opened his eyes again, he could see his surroundings better. There was a soft glow of pinkish-orange light filtering in through what he could now see were trees in the distance. Above him was a wooden covering keeping him from seeing the sky directly. He saw the same light from earlier that was attached to what he now remembered to be a building.

 _People. I think people live in these things..._ he thought to himself as he tried to remember who he was, where he was, and then it occurred to him that he didn't even know _what_ he was. He looked down at himself and saw two feet, legs, arms, hands and...other things he remembered belonged to... _humans!_ His sudden mental connection surprised him. _So I am a human, but I don't think that I have always been a human._

He rose to his feet and found a window which cast his reflection back at him. Squinting his eyes, he could make out the features on his face. He had two eyes, a nose, a mouth, two ears; everything a person had. He continued to stare into the window, until a loud shrieking sound rang out, causing him to stumble backward.

"DIPPER!" the voice shrieked again.

Bill didn't know what he should do. An emotion he was unfamiliar with was coming over him. It was fear. He decided to just stay where he had landed, at the bottom of the porch steps, and not move. He curled up into a fetal position on the ground, closed his eyes, and hoped for the best.

"Mabel! What the hell is with all the yelling?!" an out of breath Dipper exclaimed, finally reaching his sister's location from the other side of their home. He found her standing at the base of the staircase, deep brown eyes as big as saucers, a wooden baseball bat in a death grip in her right hand. "Whoa, you ok? What happened?" his voice now laced with concern for his twin.

"There's a _naked_ guy outside our window," she whispered, barely audible.

"What? You were yelling just a second ago and now I can't even hear you!" He was beginning to get exasperated.

"There's a NAKED GUY outside our WINDOW!" she cried, specifically enunciating each word slowly.

"That's better... Wait, what?!" Dipper was clearly confused. "Like, there's an actual _person_ outside the window?"

"Yes."

"And he's actually _naked_?!"

"Yes."

"Uh...ok." He turned to look out the window, not seeing anyone standing there. "Well, let's just go out there and see what he wants so we can get on with our lives..." When he turned back to Mabel, she was no longer there. "Hey, Mabes? Where'd you go?"

"I went to get one of Grunkle Stan's robes," she replied as she came back into the room. "It might be a little awkward...you know. I mean, don't get me wrong, I like seeing the male figure just as much as the next gal, but this _is_ a total stranger and he could be hurt or something."

"Sure. Let's just go see what his deal is."

Dipper cautiously opened the door that led out onto the covered porch. Mabel followed closely behind, still gripping the bat. The robe was thrown over her shoulder.

Seeing him at the bottom of the stairs, they stopped on the edge of the porch. He was still curled up on the ground, eyes screwed shut tightly. The twins looked at each other, puzzled.

"Hello?" Dipper called out.

The man opened one eye. He didn't move any other muscle.

"Are you ok?" Mabel spoke this time.

The man opened his other eye. He still didn't move anything else.

"He looks scared to death, Dipper. We need to cover him up and bring him inside." Mabel's intense motherly instincts were taking over. "Here," she said as she handed Dipper the robe, "Wrap this around him and help him up."

Dipper gave her that why-do-I-have-to-do-it look, but then realized he was a guy, and the stranger was a guy, and he shouldn't be putting his sister in a predicament where she could potentially be attacked. Upon taking the first step down the porch, Bill noticeably flinched and closed his eyes again.

"Hey, it's ok," Dipper said gently, trying to assure the frightened man. "I'm not going to hurt you, I just want to cover you up and help you inside."

The soothing voice calmed Bill and he opened his eyes again. Dipper slowly took the final steps needed to close the distance between them and gently covered the man with the robe.

 _That's warm...and soft_ , Bill thought as he allowed Dipper to help him up off the ground.

"Can you walk?" Dipper inquired of the stranger.

" _Yes."_ Bill looked at him as he spoke his answer in his mind, not realizing that he couldn't be heard.

Dipper, confused, asked again, "Are you able to walk?"

This time Bill nodded his head up and down once to show his response, still wondering why he couldn't be heard. They began to slowly walk up the steps and Mabel opened the door for them, shutting it when everyone was inside. The siblings looked at each other, and then at the stranger they just brought into their home.

He looked like your run-of-the-mill, average Joe kinda guy; average build (yet toned) and height, very similar to Dipper. The glaring exception was his hair. It was a bright golden blond and very short on the sides and back, but the top was much longer and jet black. It fell to one side, and now that he was upright, also fell over his eyes.

They led him into the living room where they showed him the couch to sit down on. Bill kept the robe wrapped around him tightly, much like a security blanket. He gazed around the room in wonder, taking in everything like it was the most wonderful thing in the world.

"Dipper, why don't you sit with him and try to figure out who he is and I'll go get something of yours for him to wear."

"Yeah, alright," he replied, as he waved her off, still staring at the stranger. Then realization struck. "Wait- What?! Why my clothes?" he asked in surprise as he turned to glare at his sister.

"Well, he needs to wear _something_ , duh. And he looks to be just your size. I'll just grab some of your old jeans and a t-shirt. Oh- and some underwear..." she trailed off as she headed up the stairs to his room.

Dipper face-palmed. _Of course._ He turned back to the stranger sitting on the couch and sat down at the other end.

"So... What's your name?" He got no response, not even an acknowledgement to his speaking. Bill's eyes were still wandering all around the room. Dipper snapped his fingers a few inches from his face to get his attention. It definitely did the job. Bill jumped and squeaked in fear, huddling away from Dipper as best he could, pulling his knees up to his chest and hugging himself tight. _Gees, this guy's jumpy._

Just then, Mabel returned with an armful of clothes. She had brought a pair of black jeans, a white t-shirt, boxers, and socks. She also brought a belt, just in case the jeans were too big. This guy did seem pretty lean and toned compared to her brother...

"Dipper! What did you do?!" she scolded when she caught sight of the stranger trembling on the couch. "Did you scare him?"

"I didn't mean to! The guy's jumpy!" he replied in his defense. "All I did was snap my fingers in front of his face 'cause he wouldn't answer me."

She slowly went up to the man, kneeling on the floor in front of him. She soothingly placed a hand on his knee, and said in her gentlest voice, "It's ok, you can loosen up. We don't wanna hurt you. Please forgive my dopey brother here, sometimes he forgets his manners."

Bill began to relax upon hearing Mabel's sweet voice. Doing so caused the robe he had wrapped around him to fall, revealing more than is usually acceptable in polite company. Mabel immediately scrambled to her feet, averting her eyes. "Too loose! Too loose!" she exclaimed, tossing the clothes over to Dipper. "Help him get dressed, will you?!" She quickly exited the room.

"W-what?! He's a grown man...he can dress himself!" he called to her, but she was already gone. He stood, laying the clothes out on the couch where he was just sitting. "Just, put these on...I'll be right back," he directed to the stranger.

Bill had just sat quietly during that whole exchange; watching and listening to the two people converse with each other. He decided that they looked vaguely familiar, but didn't know why. He was wondering why they were moving their mouths as they spoke. He opened and closed his own mouth a few times, but no sound came out of his the way it did when they opened theirs.

Then he remembered the things that were placed next to him. He glanced over at the clothes, not really sure what to do with them, but they did look similar to what one of the humans had covering their body. He tried the shirt first. He picked it up, held it out in front of him, and turned it several times to see if he could line it up right. Picturing how it looked on the human, he tried at first to step into the center hole. That wasn't right. He turned it again and decided this time to put it down over his head. It ended up just hanging around his neck.

He picked up the boxers, but didn't remember seeing those on the human, so he tossed them aside. The jeans looked familiar, though. It had two long parts. _One for each of these_ , he thought as he sat down and stuck his legs into the pants. He pulled them up, not even needing to undo the zipper or button. They were a bit big...and a bit rough... on certain... parts. _This is not soft like that other thing was..._

Just as he was going to grab the socks, Dipper was coming around the corner. "Hey there..." he said as gently as possible, so as to not scare the guy again and incur the wrath of his sister. "Are you-" he began, but then noticed how the stranger looked. "Um, do you need help?" he asked.

Bill looked up at him, and then to the socks he had in his hand. " _Yes."_ He then held up the socks to Dipper, child-like shyness on his face. _Wow, this guy must've hit his head or something...can't even dress himself, won't talk. This keeps up we're going to have to turn him over to the authorities._ He grabbed the socks and slipped one on each foot. Then he helped him get his arms through the right holes so the shirt would be on properly.

"There. All dressed." At that moment, Mabel returned to the room and immediately noticed the boxers that were tossed aside.

"Uuuhh..Dipper-" she began, but started giggling too much.

"What? What's so funny?!"

She picked up the shorts and tossed them at him. "Our friend here is going Commando."

"What the fu- Oh gawd..." he groaned as he pulled a hand down his face. His sister was still giggling. Bill just stood there smiling, but not sure why. "You were supposed to put these on _before_ the pants," he told the stranger, incredulously.

"Looks like he's gonna need that belt, too. Your pants are kinda big on 'im," Mabel added. "I'll leave again...You help him get dressed properly," she snickered on the way out of the room.

Dipper handed the man the boxers. "Here, you need to put these on first, and then put the pants back on, ok?" Bill had already begun to take off the jeans before Dipper had finished talking. "Whoa! At least let me turn around first!" he blushed. The brunet quickly turned his head.

Bill did as told, putting on the shorts first, then the pants. _Well, that does feel better._

"You can come back now, Mabel. He's decent," Dipper called to his sister.

He didn't want to be alone with this guy any longer than he had to. Mabel was much more...diplomatic than him. He felt that she should do most of the talking. And there were _a lot_ of questions to ask this silent stranger.

* * *

 **A/N~ Just something that's been floatin' around in my head. Don't know where it's going, but it should be fun...bwahaha!**


	2. Chapter 2 The Thankful Stranger

**Chapter 2**

 **The Thankful Stranger**

Mabel returned to the living room, a serving tray in hand with some glasses of milk and a plate of cookies. Dipper looked at her as if to say, " _Really? Milk and cookies? He's not a toddler"_. She just rolled her eyes at him.

She set the tray down in front of Bill on a small coffee table. "Here. I thought you might be hungry. The cookies are gluten-free, nut-free, sugar-free, and... I think that's all the allergens and bad stuff, anyway," she said as she offered one to the stranger. Bill reluctantly took it.

Dipper chuckled under his breath, "Yeah, that means they're taste-free, too." His sister glared at him. "And since when to you categorize sugar as _bad_ stuff? You eat it by the pound. I'm surprised we even have those in the house."

"Well, I don't know if he's allergic to anything or sensitive to sugar. I keep a bag of these for just such occasions...you never know. And just because _I_ can eat a bunch of sugar and it not affect me, doesn't mean everyone can," she said with a smug look on her face.

"Yeah, keep telling yourself that, sis," Dipper laughed.

Again, Bill sat there quietly, listening to the two people talking. He was taking in all their words. Each time he would hear a new one, it was locked into his mind. For some reason, after hearing them spoken, it would be like he always knew them. He wasn't sure why he couldn't think of most of them on his own, though. And he still couldn't figure out how he was supposed to say any words of his own out loud so the other people could hear him.

When the siblings were done with their light-hearted bickering, they noticed the stranger was just sitting there staring at them, not even a bit interested in the cookie Mabel had given him.

"Are you not hungry?" Mabel asked.

Bill blinked at her, not sure what to do. Mabel looked at his cookie and then back to him, motioning for him to move it up to his face. Then she grabbed one for herself off the plate and moved it up to her own mouth. She took a bite.

"See?" she said with her mouth full.

Bill looked at the cookie, and then brought it to his mouth. _I guess she wants me to do the same._ He put the whole thing in his mouth. He tried chewing it up, but ended up mostly biting his tongue, and then he started choking on the smaller crumbs. The lack of air he was able to intake startled him and he began to panic. Then he coughed, which startled him even more, since he had no idea he was capable of making such a sound with his throat.

"Oh, god! Dipper, he's choking! Do something!" Mabel cried. She was good at hospitality, but not at stressful situations.

Dipper got up and slapped Bill in the back a few times, which would have scared him had he not been so busy with the feelings of panic and distress. He managed to spit most of the cookie out onto the floor. The rest, just smaller crumbs, rested where they lay in his mouth...he was not sure what to do with them. Mabel reached for a glass of milk, only to be stopped by her brother.

"I don't think offering him the milk to wash it down would be a very good idea right now," Dipper suggested. "He doesn't seem to be able to swallow...or know how." He stared at the stranger with a scrutinizing eye. "I'm not sure this guy knows how to do _anything_. We better just try to talk with him first, see if we can communicate somehow. Then maybe we can figure out why he's so helpless."

"Yeah, good idea bro-bro. I'll go get some paper and something to write with. Maybe he can draw or write or something." She darted off to the kitchen and quickly returned with a notepad and pencil.

Bill had managed to swallow down the few little crumbs in his mouth by the time the twins had decided this next plan of action. It was a very weird sensation. He wasn't sure if it was good or bad yet, but decided he would be open to trying again sometime. Maybe with a smaller bite next time.

He looked between the two humans, deciding he was safe with them. They clearly weren't trying to harm him and only wanted to help. He was going to trust them fully.

Mabel sat down next to him on the couch. She looked at him, seeing he had no more fear on his face. She smiled and began to talk to him...slowly. Kinda like people tend to do when they're talking to a foreigner who doesn't speak your language, you know, because speaking slower will help sarcasm.

"So, what is your name?" She pointed at him, and then pointed at herself. "Ma-bel," she said each syllable slowly. "Mabel," she repeated, having him focus on her mouth.

Bill pressed his lips together like she did for the "m", but when he opened his mouth, there was no sound like she had. He shook his head. He couldn't do it.

"Hmm...what are we missing here," she asked herself.

Then it occurred to Dipper that maybe this guy didn't know how to make sounds with his throat. He knelt in front of the stranger, and held his hand up against his own throat. He took a deep breath, and let it out slowly while humming and touching is vocal chord area. Pushing on it made the sound change a bit. Then he did it again, this time opening his mouth and positioning his tongue and lips differently to make different sounds.

"Sound," Mabel said as her brother did this.

Bill sat up straighter, a knowing look in his eyes. He knew what sound was, and he knew how to talk, he had just never done it with a mouth, tongue, and vocal chords before. Realization struck him, or rather, came back to him. He knew how people did this. He just had to manipulate the air that crossed over his vocal chords, changing tone and pitch when needed to accommodate different sounds.

"Ma-bel!" he suddenly blurted out.

"Good job! You did it!" Dipper said with excitement.

Bill smiled as a new feeling started to seep into his being. He was overjoyed to get the praise from the male sibling. Making him happy made Bill feel...good.

"Nice job!" Mabel chimed in. "Now, can you tell us your name?" She motioned to herself again, and again said, "Mabel". Then she reached over and touched him on the chest and said, "You".

He brought his lips together and stuttered, "B-b..."

"Oooh! It starts with a 'B'? Good. What else!" she prodded.

"B-biiilll." He drew it out longer than he meant to, but then said it again. "Bill."

The twins looked at each other, ecstatic they finally had a name to call their guest.

"Ok then, Bill...You know my sister's name, and I'm Dipper. So, where are you from? How did you get here?" his voice laced with excitement at getting some information for the mystery that was this stranger.

"Slow down, Dip-dop, one at a time! He's just barely gotten his first name out!" Mabel chided. "So, Bill, do you have a last name?"

Bill looked at her strangely. _Last name...last name..._ he thought as he tried to figure out if he did, in fact, have a last name.

"Like us, our last name is Pines," Dipper offered, trying to help. "It's our family name."

A flood of memories suddenly rushed over Bill. _Pines...Pines...I know that name. Dipper and Mabel Pines. Pine Tree and Shooting Star!_ He kept repeating it over and over in his head until he realized he, too, had a second name. _That's right...I'm Cipher. Bill Cipher._ He drew in a deep breath, about to proudly announce his full name, but then he suddenly remembered something else.

A scene flashed in his mind of these two humans, and two older humans who looked similar. Then he saw a yellow triangle, and it was consumed by blue fire. He suddenly let go of the breath he was holding and began trembling once more.

The twins just sat there, bewildered, as they watched pure horror wash over Bill's face that was beaming with joy just moments ago.

He looked at the two brunets. _Th-they killed me. But only because...I tried to kill them, first._ Awareness of who he once was, and who these humans were, hit him hard. He suddenly stood straight up, backing away slowly from Dipper and Mabel.

"W-wait!" Mabel gasped, surprised by this sudden action. "What's the matter? We said we wouldn't hurt you, remember?"

"Are you _afraid_ of us again?" Dipper calmly asked as he got to his feet, trying to slowly advance in Bill's direction, but not frighten him.

"Yes." Bill said in barely a whisper. "Y-you... ha-hate me. You w-will... ki-kill me."

Again the twins looked at each other, purely confused, and then turned back to Bill. "W-why would you say that, Bill?" Dipper asked as he got closer to the trembling stranger. Bill didn't realize he was backing into a corner until he felt a wall up against his back. He flinched and closed his eyes, not knowing what would come next. "Hey, it's ok," Dipper said softly as he put a hand on Bill's shoulder. Normally, gentleness wasn't his forte, but for some reason he felt that he needed to do this...wanted to do this.

He shook his head, then covered his face with both hands. "Never. Never a-accept me. N-never," Bill mumbled.

"Please, Bill." Mabel stayed put, not wanting to scare him any more than he already was. "Whoever you are, we're not going to kill you. We would never-" she couldn't finish as tears began to well in the corners of her eyes. She wondered what could have possibly happened to this poor man to have traumatized him this severely, to make him think that they would want kill him.

Bill opened his eyes again and saw how forlorn Mabel looked. He also began to relax a little as Dipper backed away from him and crouched down on the floor into a less intimidating position. "You can tell us. We promise we won't do anything bad to you."

Feeling he had no other choice, and hoping by some miracle these humans wouldn't kill him on the spot, he let the name slip slowly from his lips.

"Ci-pher."

Dipper and Mabel froze up at the name. _The_ name _._ It had been nearly three years, but they would never forget what the being with _that_ name did to them; did to their family and friends. Weirdmaggedon. The demons. The chaos. The-almost death. If it wasn't for their Grunkles, Bill would have killed Mabel. But they tricked him, and they obliterated him. But now...now he's back. And he's in _their_ living room. And he's...human.

Both siblings shook from their memories at the same time. Dipper immediately stood and went over to Mabel, instinctively standing in front of her in full protection mode. He glared at the stranger, fists beginning to ball at his sides. Mabel sensed her brother's anger.

"I can't believe how stupid I am...I've let this, this demon into our house! I should have known better..."

"Dipper," Mabel whispered. "I know this looks bad, and I'm fully aware of who Bill Cipher _was_ , but I'm not certain this is the same guy." She held on to her brother, not really out of fear for her own safety, but fear for Bill's.

"Mabel!" Dipper yelled, not caring if he scared Bill anymore. "He's _Bill fucking Cipher_!"

"Dipper! Language!" she scolded.

"Wha- _language_?! We have, standing in our living room, only a few feet away from us at that, the demon who tried to _kill_ us three years ago! And you're concerned about my choice of words?!" Dipper was clearly upset. "I don't care what I say in front of him, 'cause it's going to be the last thing he ever hears!"

"No! We said we wouldn't hurt him! You promised, Dipper!" she exclaimed, starting to panic at her brother's words.

"Don't, Mabel. Don't pull that guilt card on me! This is a totally different situation and you know it. We cannot, I repeat, CAN NOT have Bill Cipher running around in our world! He will end up destroying us all!"

"But- We don't know that for sure! Maybe he's changed...or maybe..." She couldn't think of any other reason Bill Cipher would be back in their lives, if not to destroy them.

"Yeah, right. That's just what he wants us to think, and then when we've turned our backs- bam! He kills us and takes over the world!" Dipper's mind was a jumbled mess. He wasn't sure where to start, what to do first. He couldn't leave the room, Cipher might run. But he didn't have anything to bind him with, let alone kill him. Before he could devise any sort of plan, Bill began to speak.

"I'm sorry," he said, sheepishly.

Dipper was about to interrupt when Mabel shushed him harshly. "Damn it, Dipper, you've had your rant, now let him speak!" Dipper rolled his eyes. Nothing Bill Cipher had to say would mean anything to him.

"I don't remember all that hap-happened, but I do know I hurt you. I hurt m-many people. I don't want to hurt anyone again. I'm sorry for who I...what I was. I don't think I am him any-anymore. I have no want for what he wanted." He looked down at the floor. "You can do what you want with me. I pro-probably deserve it."

"Damn right you do!" Dipper said harshly. "How are we supposed to believe you when you say you don't remember everything, and that you're sorry, and that you have no desire to do it again?! How can we believe anything you say?"

"You can't," Bill replied sadly.

Mabel decided she needed to pull Dipper into the other room for a minute, much to her brother's annoyance. "Are you crazy, Ma-" he was cut off by his sister's hand over his mouth.

"Stop. He's not going to do anything. I believe him. If he wanted to kill us, he'd have done it already. Something tells me he is fully human, and that means fully vulnerable. I mean, he doesn't even know how to eat, for Pete's sake! And less than 30 minutes ago he couldn't speak, either!"

Dipper wrestled his sister's hand away from his face. Considering what she said, he did feel a bit better about the situation. She had a point. They would have been dead already. He did seem pretty helpless. "I guess you have some valid points, there. He could barely dress himself," he smiled, thinking back on having to help him dress. He sighed. "Fine. But what are we supposed to do with him?"

Mabel was already pulling her brother back into the room with Bill. "We'll tell him the good news!" she beamed.

Bill was still huddled in the corner. He looked up at them when they returned, still fearful of how they would treat him. Then he heard what Mabel said upon entering.

"Good news?" he questioned. "So, you will not kill me?"

"No, of course not. We already promised we wouldn't. But no, that's not the good news. The good news is that you get to stay and live here with us!" she beamed. She walked up to him and grabbed his hands, coaxing him out of the corner.

"Wait- WHAT?!" Dipper squeaked. "We didn't agree to that? When did we agree to that?!"

Mabel looked back at her brother and smiled big. "We both agreed that he was pretty much helpless, right? So that means we have to take care of him. And where better to do that then from our own home?" she declared matter-of-factly.

Dipper dragged a hand down his face. "You do realize this is actually Grunkle Ford's home, right? What happens when he comes back?"

At hearing that name, Bill stiffened up and his eyes grew wide again with fear.

"It's ok, Bill. We won't let him hurt you. We'll just tell him you're one of Dipper's friends from school...who has run away...because your family is bad... Or something like that. I don't know, we'll think of something!" She threw her hands up and shrugged, not caring about details at the moment.

"Ughh...Mabel. Always the optimist. You know, if this turns out badly, I'm blaming you."

Bill couldn't help but smile, and suddenly, he felt the urge to grab a hold of Mabel and hug her. The action caught her off guard, but she quickly realized what he wanted.

"Thank you, Shooting Star."

"Aww, you're welcome, Bill!" She hugged him back. She let go and turned to her brother, a telling look in her eye. "Your turn!" she giggled.

"Um...why?" Dipper was not sure he wanted to hug Bill Cipher, for any reason.

"So he can thank you for helping him, duh! And probably so he feels safe being near you again. Plus," she leaned closer to her brother so he could hear her whisper, "I think he likes you..." She quickly darted out of the room.

Dipper's face immediately flushed with heat. He turned to try to say something else to her, but she was already gone. He awkwardly turned back to Bill.

"Uh, yeah, so... let's get this over with," he sighed as he rubbed the back of his neck.

Bill smiled big at the boy, but was wary about approaching him. Dipper walked up to him, holding his arms out, but only as a gesture of good faith...and because his sister was making him. Bill wrapped his arms around Dipper, and for some reason, Dipper felt very at ease. The embrace was warm and caring, almost...sincere.

Bill nuzzled his face into Dipper's fluffy, soft, brown hair and whispered, "Thank you, Pine Tree."

At those words, Dipper quickly broke away, but not before hearing the tell-tale "click" of a camera shutter.

 _Oh no..._


	3. Chapter 3 The Adorable Stranger

**Chapter 3**

 **The Adorable Stranger**

"Ugh, Mabel! Really? I thought you outgrew that phase," Dipper chastised as he chased his sister into the kitchen.

"There's no outgrowing memories!" she sang back as she held her arm up high, keeping the smart phone out of her brother's reach.

At fifteen years of age, Mabel had reached her full height already, taking on a few solid inches over her brother. Dipper kept telling her that boys just mature slower than girls, and that he still had a couple of years yet before he was done growing. " _Keep telling yourself that, bro-bro!_ " she would always say to him.

The smaller twin gave up trying to grab the incriminating piece of technology, slumping into one of the kitchen chairs in defeat. Bill had sauntered in, unnoticed by the scuffling twins, and stood in the doorway, watching them with a smile on his face. Mabel noticed him first.

"So, Bill!" she began, "you are going to have to learn how to eat properly or else you're gonna wither away and die!" She had said that with a bit more enthusiasm than most people would have, considering the insinuation of impending death. "Why don't we start with something soft...something like," she paused as she shuffled around in the fridge, "pudding!"

She emerged from the cold metal box with a single-serve portion of pudding, chocolate, of course. Motioning for Bill to have a seat next to Dipper at the table, she fished around in a drawer for a spoon, peeled the lid off of the pudding cup, and placed both down in front of the blond.

"You're going to want to take it slow...kinda ease into the feeling of having something go down your throat," Dipper suggested. "Or else you may start to choke again."

Bill's face flashed a look of fear as he recalled what just happened in the other room with the cookie. Mabel noticed immediately and jumped in to ease his concern.

"It's alright, just take a tiny bit at first. It won't be enough to get caught, and we're here to save you if anything goes wrong!"

Dipper wasn't sure how that statement could have helped ease Bill's worries of choking to death, but it was the thought that counted.

Bill looked down at the spoon on the table, _Not sure what I'm supposed to do with that_ , and then at the strange brown substance in the little plastic cup, _Looks like...mud?_

Seeing that Bill wasn't making a move to try and feed himself, Dipper took the initiative and grabbed the spoon for him, scooping up a tiny portion onto the spoon.

"Open up," he ordered gently. He noticed Bill had pursed his lips, shaking his head ever so slightly. "Come on, it's not gonna hurt you," Dipper prodded. "Watch, I'll take a bite first."

He scooped up a little bit more pudding from the cup, (you know, enough to make it worth his while, because who can take just a tiny bite of deliciously smooth and chocolaty goodness), and took it into his mouth, cleaning the spoon as he pressed his lips against it and slowly pulled it back out.

"See? Easy as that." He looked back at Bill who was staring at him, wide-eyed in superfluous fascination. Dipper could feel heat rising in his cheeks as he felt the weight of Bill's stare burrowing into him. "What?" he said, almost defensively.

Mabel chuckled as she saw the exchange and couldn't help but comment. "Wow, Dipper, that was a rather...sensual way to eat pudding," she laughed. "I might have to pull out my phone again, you are on fire today!"

"Shut up, Mabel!" he blushed as he thought about how he had eaten the bite of pudding. Maybe it could have been construed that way, but only Mabel would think so. "Gees, I'm just trying to be helpful, getting every bit off the spoon before giving it back to him."

Mabel's face grew red as she tried to hold back more laughter. "Is that what you were doing?" she teased. "Why would you even assume that he would want to use the same spoon?"

"I didn't! I mean...it's just Bill, I- I didn't think he'd care!" the male twin defended. Kind of a lack-luster excuse is all it came out as. "Ugh! Gees, you are impossible sometimes, you know that?! Just...get him another spoon, will you?"

Before she could get up and fish out another spoon, Bill had already grabbed the one out of Dipper's hand, using it to scoop up a small portion of the brown stuff.

"Too late!" Mabel giggled.

He looked it over and then, remembering how Dipper did it, placed it in his mouth, pressing his lips fully around the spoon, and pulling it slowly back out. Seeing that the spoon was clean, just like Dipper showed him, he beamed brightly, feeling a sense of pride in his new ability.

"Teehee!" the female twin squeaked. "Indirect kissing!" She said it more to herself than to anyone in particular, but it was still loud enough for Dipper to hear, and he shot daggers at her with a maddening glare.

"You are so immature!" he whisper-yelled at her. She just ignored him, loving how she can get her brother riled up so easily.

They turned their attention back to the blond. He was busy squishing the sweet substance around in his mouth, using his tongue to push it onto the roof of his mouth, and sort-of chewing on it, though he couldn't quite figure out why he couldn't feel it between his teeth. Instinctively, he moved it to the back of his throat and swallowed it down. _Well, that was easy, why couldn't I do this before?_ He blinked with curiosity a couple of times before smiling big, looking like a proud kindergartener who had learned to count to ten.

"I did it!" he exclaimed as he dunked the spoon back into the cup and dug out a much larger portion.

"Yes! Yes, you did," Mabel declared proudly. "But go easy, you don't want to over do it," she added.

Bill put the spoon up to his mouth again, this time only partially inserting it into his mouth before biting down and dragging it back out. Doing so caused a bit of the pudding to stick to the top of his lip. After swallowing down that bite, Bill could feel the sensation of something on his skin. It felt a bit... _cold?_ Yeah, that seemed right, cold... _and also wet_ , he concluded.

Not sure of how to remedy that problem, he set the spoon down in the cup (causing it to fall over due to the weight of the spoon and the flimsiness of the cup, which startled him momentarily, but the unpleasant sensation on his lip overpowered that worry, so he just let it go), and then proceeded to seek out the cause of the cold and wet feeling on his upper lip.

The twins watched in amusement as Bill tried to put his lower lip above the other, then scrunched his face in all manners of silly expressions, all in a desperate attempt to get at that nuisance he was feeling. Finally, after about half a minute of futile effort, he got the brilliant idea of using that long, rather flexible appendage in his mouth and stuck it out, curling it over his upper lip, and finally coming in contact with the cold and wet substance that annoyed him so. _Huh...it was just that pudding stuff that was stuck on me_ , he realized. Satisfied, he eagerly snatched up the spoon, setting the cup upright before plunging it in for another scoop.

Mabel giggled as she nudged Dipper with her elbow, her other arm resting under the table in her lap. "He missed some, Dip...why don't you help him out there?" She wiggled her eyebrows at him.

"Mabel! Will you knock it off! And why don't _you_ do it? You're the one being all motherly."

"You're closer!" she replied, triumphantly. Dipper just rolled his eyes in response.

He looked around for a napkin, or anything else he could use to clean up Bill's face, however, after finding nothing in his vicinity, he turned back to the blond who had looked up from his chocolate treat when the twins had started arguing again. Awkwardly, Dipper began to use his finger, wiping Bill's mess off his lip. After not getting it all the first time, due to Bill's surprise at the sudden contact causing him to flinch a bit, Dipper switched to a clean finger, and held his face gingerly with the other hand.

"Hold still, I'm just cleaning up your face," Dipper explained as he gently wiped away the chocolate now smeared into the corner of Bill's mouth. And no sooner had he finished saying that, did he hear that loathsome click again.

He whipped around to see a giggling Mabel, smart phone in hand once again. She had been hiding it under the table from him, hoping for another adorable moment to capture for posterity. Instead of fuming at her, he decided to take a different approach.

"Laugh it up, Mabes," he declared through a coy smile, wiping his sticky fingers on his pants. He glared at her with one of those 'payback is worse' type of looks.

"Aw, you're no fun, bro. It's just an innocent picture, is it not?" she queried of him, knowing it was a loaded question, and loving the response she got.

"Yes, it is...of course it is, but, well... if you go plastering those pictures all over social media it's gonna paint me as being, sort of, you know...uh," he tried to dance around the word, but realized he was going to have to say it if he wanted her to take him seriously, "...gay."

"Well, never pegged you as the homophobic type, Dipping Sauce, but, if that's how you're gonna be-" she teased, knowing full well her brother was not homophobic.

"Mabel!" he exclaimed in a new level of defensiveness, "You know that's not true! I have no such fear for anyone's sexuality! I just... I know I'm not, well, _that_ , and I don't want you insinuating to the world that I am. That's all," he finished, nervously rubbing the back of his neck.

"Alright then, I'll just keep these little tidbits to myself," she stated as she began to leave the kitchen, phone safely tucked away in her pocket. "...For now," she added under her breath.

Dipper slouched down into his chair, exhausted by the antics of his sister, not to mention the whole 'Bill is back in our lives' thing that was thrown on him less than an hour ago. Bill ignored him as he finished the pudding cup. Having scraped out as much as he could, he tossed the spoon aside and began to lick the insides clean. Needless to say he ended up getting a lot more than just a small smudge of chocolate on his face.

Dipper sighed as he got up to find a paper towel this time. Snatching one from a roll under the sink, he got it slightly damp under the faucet and gave it to Bill to clean himself up. He was not going to give Mabel any more photo-ops, if he could help it. He set the towel down on the table in front of the blond who just eyed it, not really sure what he was supposed to be doing with it.

"Wipe your face with it, Bill," he said dryly as he sat down again. _I have a bad feeling I'm gonna be stuck teaching BILL, of all people, er, demons, er...whatever! how to do nearly everything as a human...and that includes...oh no._

As Bill happily wiped the damp paper towel over his face, Dipper's own face flushed over with a deep red that would shame any rose at the direction his thoughts were going. He just realized, being that he's male, and Bill's male, that HE would be the one charged with the unavoidable task of... how to put this politely... showing Bill how to use the bathroom. _Not to mention, how to use the shower and properly bathe himself...and wash his hair...and_ (he glanced over at Bill's face again, not remembering the extent of facial hair he had)... _huh, doesn't seem to have any at the moment, but still, I'm sure Mabel will have me go over shaving with him at some point..._

The sound of Bill's voice drew the brunet out of his thoughts. "Did I get it all, Pine Tree?" he asked with all the guarded hope of a child trying to please his father.

"Yeah, you got most of it. Here, let me get the rest." Dipper grabbed the towel and finished getting the spots he had missed, keeping a cautious eye out for any signs of his sister and her dang phone.

"Why is your face such a dark shade of red, Pine Tree?" Bill asked with sincere curiosity. He wondered to himself if his own skin was able to change colors, too.

Dipper face palmed, trying not to get redder than he already was, if that was even possible. "Um, i-it's just something the body does when it gets...o-over heated. Yeah. Perfectly normal."

He quickly got up and threw away the paper towel. When he returned to within range of Bill, the blond suddenly stood up and reached out with both hands to touch each of Dipper's cheeks. Not really ready to react to the swiftness of Bill's action, Dipper just stood there, hoping to God that Mabel wouldn't walk in at that second.

Bill's eyes grew wide at the warm sensation seeping into his own skin at his hands. "Wooow," he said in amazement, drawing out the word longer than he probably needed to. "You really ARE hot!"

At that same moment, Mabel did, indeed, show up to witness the absolutely adorable invasion of Dipper's personal space, as well as the overtly candid announcement Bill just made. And, of course, she was ready for whatever she may find with her trusty device of torture with which to collect more precious 'memories'. Since the guys were both standing in profile to her, she got the perfect shot of Bill's hands caressing Dipper's flushed face. _Priceless!_ She bubbled over with pure giddiness.

"Oh my gawd... you two are going to be the death of me!" the poor, tortured brunet cried.

He pushed (a bit less than gently, but with more force than necessary) away from the now human demon, not even bothering to give his sister the usual glare as he moped his way into the living room, plopped down on the couch, and flicked on the TV. Mabel remained with Bill in the kitchen a few moments longer, showing off her handiwork to him. Bill smiled at the photos, internally marveling at how such a thing could capture an instance of time and preserve it forever. But something in the way Dipper had exited the room left him feeling...a bit troubled.

"So, whatcha wanna do now, Bill?" she asked, not really confident she'd get a direct answer _. Seeing as this IS his first day being human and he probably doesn't know a whole heckuvalota things he CAN do, I guess I better make a suggestion..._ "How's about we just go in there with Dipper and see what he's doing, 'k?"

"Sure. Whatever you think is best, Shooting Star," he shrugged as he slowly followed her lead out of the kitchen. "A-are you sure he wants me in there with him? He looked mad when he left..." His voice trailed off with all the somberness of a puppy who had just been scolded.

"Oh, him? Pffft...don't worry about him. He's fine. He just needs to learn how to face his feelings. He's easily flustered, but darn it if you're not bringing out the best of it today!" she laughed as she grabbed his arm and gently led him out of the kitchen.

"Ok, Shooting Star. If you say so."

The two wandered into the living room to see Dipper sinking into the couch, scowling as he leaned haphazardly over the arm. He didn't even glance their way as they joined him, Mabel taking the extreme opposite end in order to give Bill no other option but to sit between them.

Without warning, Dipper suddenly flew off the couch and hurried up the stairs to his bedroom before the other two even realized what was happening. The action was totally unexpected by Mabel, who by now had become quite proficient at predicting her brother's behavior. She knew she had pushed him a little too far, but he usually got over it with far less drama than he was currently showing.

A seriously concerned Bill spoke up first. "Did I do something wrong, Shooting Star?" The poor guy seriously looked to be on the verge of tears.

Mabel didn't know whether to be more upset with Dipper for behaving in a manner that would make Bill feel this way, or with herself for her own annoying behavior, which pushed Dipper into behaving in such a way that would make Bill feel this way in the first place.

"Aw, it's ok, Bill...you didn't do anything. He's upset with me. I guess I should go talk to him," she sighed as she got up off the couch and began to leave. "Here, you can watch whatever you want," she said as she reached out to hand him the TV remote.

Suddenly remembering that he probably had no idea how to work it, she pulled her arm back and changed the channel to a kid's network, thinking that something animated might keep his attention long enough for her to talk her brother back downstairs. She then tossed the remote on the couch next to him.

"Just, stay put and don't get into anything, ok?" she said pleasantly as she finally left the room.

When she got to the top of the stairs, she saw their bedroom door closed tight, signaling that her brother did not want to be bothered, but, being Mabel, she chose to ignore it, knowing that fixing the situation was far more important than worrying about breaking one of their unspoken sibling rules. At least she had the decency to knock first, though.

Dipper rolled over to face the wall as soon as he heard the first of the three gentle taps on the closed door. He didn't even bother to voice his disapproval of her entering, knowing full well that she would just ignore him, anyways. His sister had always been hopelessly predictable.

"Dipper," she began, slowly and sincerely, "I am so sorry for getting you so upset. And I know you don't even want me here right now, but... well, your behavior has really gotten Bill all upset now, like he's almost ready to cry because he thinks you hate him... and I know that it's really all _my_ fault because I pushed you too far and so, really, I guess everyone should point all the blame at me for... well, for doing what I do best, I suppose."

She slumped down onto the side of her own bed, suddenly quite interested in the wood grain in the flooring. Dipper moved to sit up onto the side of his bed, but she didn't look up at him, too busy worrying about what might come out of his mouth...what she deserved to hear. But what he had to say was not what she expected.

"It's ok, Mabel. It's not your fault. I don't know what's wrong with me lately. I've been way over-sensitive about a lot of things, and this...this whole thing with Bill here all of a sudden, and you teasing me, it did push me past my comfort zone, but I didn't have to react that way. I shouldn't have gotten so mad and stormed out."

"But-" Mabel began to protest her brother's desire to own all the blame, but Dipper cut her off.

"No, Mabel, let me finish. I know you well enough that the things you do shouldn't bother me. What you do best is what I love about you. It's what everybody loves about you. You doing anything different than being yourself would...well, it would just be a crime, that's what it would be."

He looked over at his sister, who had looked up from the floor to look over at him, as well. "Thanks, Dipper," she smiled.

Dipper rose to his feet and stood in front of the other, offering his hand to help her up. She accepted it and got to her feet, also.

"Awkward sibling hug?" she asked, sheepishly.

"Sincere sibling hug," he replied, embracing his sister warmly.

"Pat, pat!" they said in unison as they released each other.

"We better get back downstairs and check on Bill," Mabel smiled as she turned to leave their room.

"Yeah, right behind you, sis."

They returned to the living room to find Bill frozen in the same spot Mabel had left him on the couch. He was clearly fascinated with the bright, colorful moving pictures that were flashing on the large rectangle in front of him. Stan had replaced his old TV a couple of years back with a 60 inch flat screen, making any cartoon that was watched on it larger than life to even the most avid animation enthusiast. To Bill, it was down right other-worldly.

Dipper reclaimed his seat to the left of the entranced blond, but was totally unnoticed in doing so. Mabel moved to stand in Bill's line of sight, wondering if she could get his attention away from the TV in the process, but failed. Instead, he craned his neck to look around her, not wanting to miss even one second of the show he was locked on. The female twin just giggled and took her seat on the other side of Bill. Just as she did, the happy colors and joyful sounds of the animated show stopped and a dull, live-action commercial took its place.

Conveniently, this snapped the blond out of his fixation, causing him to discover that there were now two people sitting on either side of him. His face lit up upon seeing the twins, but especially when he looked over to Dipper, seeing a warm, smiling face looking back at him.

"Whatcha doin', Bill?" Dipper asked casually.

"He-hey, Pine Tree! You're back!" he exclaimed in excitement. His voice lowered, however, as he remembered why the brunet left in the first place. "Um, does this mean you're not mad at me and Shooting Star anymore?" he asked with anticipation.

"Look, Bill...I was never mad at you, and shouldn't have been mad at Mabel...I'm sorry if you were upset over my bad behavior. I'm gonna work on managing my emotions better, ok?" he reassured.

"O-ok...thanks, Pine Tree. I didn't like the feeling I got when I thought you were mad at me...I hope I never feel it again. What is that feeling, anyway?" he asked, somberly.

"Oh, uh...sadness? Rejection? Both of those? There are hundreds of emotions humans can experience, Bill," he tried to explain.

"Hundreds?! And do I have to learn how to manage them all...like you?" He looked positively worried now.

Dipper chuckled at his innocent ignorance. "Well, yeah...managing them just means handling them appropriately, and knowing how to control them." Bill just looked at him, not really understanding what he just heard. Dipper just smiled and said, "You'll learn over time, don't worry about it. So what were you just watching on the TV?" He knew what it was, but felt the need to change the subject. Bill was more than eager to acquiesce

"Oh! Yes! It's a fascinating story about this happy yellow square... who lives in a piece of fruit of all things! ...and his two neighbors, a pink star-shaped creature and a greenish-blue creature with lots of legs and a really big nose. The square seems to be really good friends with the star, and he really likes the other guy, but that guy doesn't seem to like him back. In fact, he gets mad at the happy yellow guy a lot."

The twins looked at each other, smiling at the simplistic description of the popular cartoon.

"Ooo! And the pink star lives under a rock, but it doesn't squish him! It can slam down on top of him and he doesn't get hurt! And the guy with all the legs lives in a statue-like thing in between the other two, and he's always leaning out his window yelling at them to be quiet. But he's always making his own loud and annoying sounds with a black stick with holes in it...and the other two don't seem to mind."

When the commercials finally ended and the show came back on, Bill was quick to turn back to the TV, sitting up attentively. "Shush! It's back on!" he exclaimed in childish glee, barely able to contain his excitement.

The irony of being shushed when they weren't even speaking was not lost on Dipper. Still, Dipper complied and relaxed into the arm of the couch, unable to take his eyes off the adorable blond guy seated on the couch next to him. He had a good feeling that having Bill around might not be such a bad thing, after all.


	4. Chapter 4 The Special Stranger

**A/N Well, that was a long wait for this one, but the chapter is pretty lengthy, so that kinda makes up for it, right? No? Oh well, sorry! Enjoy!**

 **The Special Stranger**

Bill had finally had his fill of the animated TV show after about two straight hours. Even before the current episode had ended, he unexpectedly popped up off the couch, startling the twins who were both only moments away from having fallen completely asleep. They could only tolerate so much of the yellow square's high-pitched voice and overtly innocent shenanigans before becoming overwhelmingly bored, and both had found themselves slumped over their respective ends of the couch. The sudden movement of the cushions being vacated by the bubbly guy dragged them from their sleepy state, and both looked over to see Bill stretching his limbs.

"Hey, you done watching TV now, Bill?" Mabel queried through a half-yawn.

"Yeah. My arms and legs were getting sore from sitting in one spot so long. This kinda hurts, too," he added as he reached around and rubbed his hands over his backside.

"Well, that'll happen after sitting in one position for too long," Dipper said, rubbing his own sore hip that had been digging into the hard frame of the couch. "So, other than that, how're you feeling? Are you hungry? Tired?"

Bill pondered that for a moment before answering, "I feel fine. Maybe a bit warm, though? And my mouth is kinda dry..."

"Lemme get you some water," Dipper casually offered.

Dipper scurried to the kitchen to grab a glass of water for Bill, smiling at the mental image of the blonde needing a sippy cup as a toddler would. He mentally scolded himself for that, stumbling into his next thought. _Of course he'll be able to drink without using a sippy cup... It's not like he was born yesterday._ The casual use of the common idiom held much more significance where Bill was concerned, the irony of which figuratively smacked Dipper clean in the face as soon as he thought it and he burst into a fit of laughter. Pulling himself back together, he looked at the glass again and thought of the blond. He figured a straw would do.

"Here ya go," Dipper said cheerfully as he handed the glass to Bill.

Bill looked quizzically at the plastic tube in his water, but decided to ignore it and began to drink from the glass like anyone normally would. Dipper smiled at this but decided not to say anything. He looked over at his sister, who was getting off the couch and ready to leave the room. She halted before fully exiting.

"Bill mentioned he was getting kinda warm, and it is supposed to be quite hot by midday, so I'm gonna go turn the fans on now."

It was the middle of summer, and the hot and humid weather of the Pacific Northwest could be quite unforgiving. They had no air conditioning, so they usually just made do with cool clothes, cold drinks, and strategically placed fans to keep the air circulating.

Mabel scurried out of the living room, leaving Dipper to find something else to talk about with Bill. Not that he minded, he felt perfectly comfortable around the now human demon. Well, pretty comfortable. Maybe only somewhat comfortable.

Thoughts of what the demon had done only three years prior suddenly flooded his mind again, as if to say 'How dare you feel any amount of comfort in the presence of a being that nearly ended your entire world!'

Bill seemed to sense Dipper's internal conflict and reached over to place a hand on the brunet's shoulder. "Pine Tree?" he asked, quietly trying to get the other's attention.

The close and sudden contact made Dipper jump and take a step back. When he looked at Bill, the blond caught a fleeting sense of fear in the deep brown eyes.

"Oh! Sorry, Bill, I was...uh, lost in thought, I guess." Dipper nervously rubbed the back of his neck. "Did you need something? More water?"

Bill looked down at his now empty glass. "Um, no?" It came out sounding like a question, even though he knew for certain that he didn't want more. "Yes...I mean-" he stopped abruptly, seemingly trying to organize his thoughts. "No, I don't need any more water, thanks," he said as he handed the empty glass to Dipper, "but yes, there is something I need." He looked down at the floor before continuing. "I need to know things."

Dipper smiled. "Well, yeah, we're gonna help you to learn the things you need to live and-"

Bill's face took on a somber look. "No, I mean I need to know things like who I am, who I used to be, what my purpose is now. Those kinds of things. I don't even know why I'm here, or how I came to be here."

"Oh. Well, now you're going all existential on me," Dipper quipped, trying to lighten the air. "People have been asking those questions forever, and we still don't know the answers! But, seriously, I can understand you want to know these things, Bill, and Mabel and I can help you out a little, but we don't know many of those answers. We can tell you who you were, well, what we knew, anyway. But we have no idea why or how you came back. As for who you are now, well, that one's entirely up to you."

Mabel popped back into the room, seeing the boys were in the middle of a serious conversation. "What'd I miss?!"

"Not much. Bill just has a lot of questions about himself, most of which we can't answer for him," Dipper replied.

"Oh, well Bill's an extremely intelligent being, I'm sure he'll figure it out!"

Ah, Mabel. Forever the optimist.

For the rest of their day, the twins decided to stay inside, giving Bill a thorough tour of the shack, showing him the rooms he could and could not go in. It was mostly a day filled with Bill asking questions about every little thing and the twins answering him with what it was and what it was for. Although it was a good time spent with their new house guest, especially considering who that person was, Dipper couldn't help but continuously run his mind about discussing their past with him.

The thought of having to tell him what he had done to them over the course of that summer was a bit depressing. Bill had already told them he remembered somewhat about trying to hurt them, but what would he do if he knew what he truly was? Since he had shown up that morning, he was clearly unaware of his past, and even more unaware of what he used to be. Dipper couldn't help but worry about what Bill would do with that knowledge. He finally decided that worrying about it now wouldn't do him any good, and that he needed to enjoy the day. He could talk privately with Mabel about it later, hopefully when Bill was asleep.

Around six o'clock that evening, after a full day of learning how to eat and drink properly, watching plenty of cartoons, and trying to figure out if Bill could remember more about himself on his own, (he still couldn't remember much besides trying to hurt the Pines family, and the fact that he used to be a yellow triangle with a dapper fashion sense), Dipper decided it was a good idea that they work out sleeping arrangements before Bill got too sleepy and needed to go to bed for the night. They weren't sure how much sleep he had gotten the previous night, or exactly what time he had come into existence, for that matter, so they thought it better to be prepared for whatever sleep patterns he was already used to.

"So where's he gonna crash tonight, Dippin' Dots?" Mabel so eloquently questioned.

She would just as soon turn their bedroom into one giant blanket fort, shoving mattresses together on the floor and having one big slumber party, which would have been fine for a night or two, but Dipper needed to come up with a long term solution. Preferably one that didn't involve the three of them cozying up together on the floor of their room.

"Hmm... 'm not sure." Dipper absentmindedly grabbed a pen and began chewing on it, as per usual when faced with an epic quandary that needed some heavy thinking.

The shack was certainly large enough to accommodate one extra person, but the problem wasn't space. _He can't stay down here..._ Dipper didn't want Bill to be alone on the main floor of the house, but at the same time, there were no extra rooms in the attic, either. The twins already shared a room, leaving minimal space to add another sleeping area up there. All the rooms downstairs were already being used- Stan's bedroom was full of his stuff, the smaller office room was full of, well, office stuff (like the safe and the old copy machine), and Ford's bedroom was full of Ford's stuff. There was no way Dipper was going to rearrange any of those rooms and face the wrath of his great uncles in doing so. They were very protective of their spaces, and the twins stayed out of their rooms as much as possible.

"Well, I guess we can just set up a spot on the floor in our room tonight until we can figure out a more permanent set-up." He glanced over at his sister to catch the sour look she had just given him.

"Dipper, he's our guest. We can't expect him to sleep on the floor!" Mabel huffed, as if highly offended by her brother's suggestion.

"Ok, then...he can have _your_ bed, and _you_ can sleep on the floor," Dipper replied smugly.

"What?! How about _you_ give up-" she began, but was cut off by the blonde who felt the need to step in.

"Wait. It's alright, I don't mind sleeping on the floor. I slept on the ground last night, after all." Memories of last night came back to him and then he stated, "I could sleep on that couch on the porch! That was quite nice," he smiled, proud of himself for thinking of a solution to their small dilemma.

Mabel rolled her eyes and laughed out loud. "No way, you're not sleeping outside, Bill!"

"Then the floor is fine. Really. It's ok with me," the blonde tried to reassure the older twin. Mabel made a face as if to say 'I'm still not ok with this' but gave up quickly as she realized she was outnumbered by the two boys.

"Fine," she huffed, "but don't come cryin' to me when you wake up in the middle of the night with a sore back."

Mabel was nothing if not an overly generous hostess, and the thought of a guest sleeping on the floor made her physically hurt; like made her chest ache and her head throb. She tried to tell herself that this was Bill Cipher, the demon who almost killed her with the snap of his fingers, so she wouldn't feel as bad about it. But when she looked over at him... his cute, innocent face, his perfectly human features... she only felt worse for him. _First night as a human, first time sleeping in a house, and this is what he has to sleep on,_ she pouted to herself.

Bill just gave her a perplexed look, then turned to see what Dipper was doing. The younger twin had gone into the hallway to retrieve some blankets and pillows from the linen closet. He returned with an armful that he couldn't see over the top of and nearly ran into the blonde, had Mabel not yanked him out of the way at the last second. He let the pile fall unceremoniously onto the floor.

"Here. Mabel's good at making up beds and stuff like that, so I'll let her do that...," Mabel rolled her eyes at her brother to which he continued, "and I'm going to get you some pajamas and show you how to work the shower. Unless you want to do that, Mabes..." he smiled and raised an eyebrow at her reddening face.

"Uh, no. That's ok, I'll get the bed ready," she laughed, lightening up a bit at her brother's words. _Hmm...Bro-bro and Bill in the bathroom. I think I feel a Kodak moment coming._ Her thoughts left a devious smile on her face, one that had Dipper suddenly regretting ever mentioning that he would be showing their guest how to use the shower.

Dipper quickly grabbed some of his extra pajama pants and a fresh pair of boxers out of his dresser and grabbed Bill's arm, leading him to the bathroom downstairs.

"Uh, what are we doing, Pine Tree?" Bill asked as he was being pulled down the stairs swiftly, the unfortunate benefactor of Dipper's haste to get done with what he had to do before Mabel finished with her task and came down to inevitably capture more priceless memories. "And why are we in such a hurry?"

"Well, I want to show you how to use the shower before Mabel can come down here and, well, you know... get in the way."

"Why would she be in the way? She seems really helpful-"

"Trust me. She won't be helpful in a situation like this. Now, pay attention so you can do this yourself."

Dipper proceeded to lead Bill into the bathroom, dropping the bundle of clean clothes and his towel on the hall table just outside the door before showing him how to turn the water on, get it to the proper temperature, and use the soap and shampoo accordingly. Things were going rather smoothly, and Dipper was satisfied that he had completely and thoroughly explained everything he needed. _Thank goodness...that was rather quick._

"So, you think you can handle it from here?" he asked the blonde, but when he turned to face him, he was met with a face filled with pure horror. The poor demon-turned-human was hopping from foot to foot and looked about to cry. "Bill? What's wrong?!"

"I think...s-something...is wrong...my...my body...going to...burst!" he choked out, wrapping his arms around his lower abdomen.

"Oh gosh! I-I'm sorry, Bill...ugh." Realization struck, and Dipper quickly turned off the water, mentally scolding himself for having not thought to show Bill how to take care of this earlier. "You're not going to explode," he tried to reassure the blonde, "but you will need to take care of that, um, problem, right now." All Dipper could think about was how this was going to take a bit of careful explaining, but in his current condition, Bill appeared to not have the luxury of a timely lesson. He quickly lifted the lid of the toilet. "Just, remove all your clothing, sit on here just like you would a chair, and...um...well, your body will know what to do." He mentally cringed at having to say that.

Bill didn't need to be told twice. He'd nearly had everything off before Dipper even made it to the door. "O-oh! Kay, I'm just gonna wait out here," he called from the hallway. He slammed the door shut quickly, not looking back.

After a few minutes, Dipper realized he never got the chance to explain... well, the delicate art of cleaning one's self after... well, you know. He rubbed his hands down his face, took a deep breath, then opened his mouth to begin what he felt had to be the most awkward conversation he would ever have. Before he could get one word out, however, Bill beat him to it.

"Pine Tree!" he called out. "I think I'm done, because nothing more is com-"

"Ok! Yes! N-no need to explain...I get it! You're done then, ok...um." _Wow, this is not something I thought I'd ever have to explain to another human being..._ "So, do you see that roll of white stuff next to you?"

"Yes."

"Ok, t-take some of that and, uh, use it to clean... clean yourself off i-in...uh, the area from which... justcleananyareawherestuffmayhavecomeoutofyou!" He face palmed, hoping that hadn't come out too fast to where Bill wasn't able to understand him.

When he didn't hear any kind of questioning from the blond, he was satisfied that the other had gotten the message and was taking care of himself properly. _Aw, man..._ He scrunched up his face and pinched the bridge of his nose as another thought came to him.

"Hey, I forgot to mention- don't use too much of that white stuff or you'll clog up the toilet!" Again, silence answered him, and he hoped beyond hope that Bill was ok in there. He really didn't want to have to go in there and help him in any way, shape, or form. "When you're all done, push down on that little silver handle to flush it. Then you can just get straight into the shower...ok?"

"Ok."

"Ok, do you need anything else? Are you fine on your own now?"

"Yes, I think I can do this."

Dipper then heard the water of the shower start to fall and the curtain pulled closed. He sighed in relief that things went more smoothly than they could have, and turned to head over to the living room to wait for Bill to be done. After about ten minutes, he thought he heard his nickname being called, so he got up and went back over to the hallway.

"Bill? Were you calling me? Everything ok?"

"Yes."

"O-kay... What is it that you need, then?" he prodded as the blond wasn't exactly being forthcoming with what it was he had called him about.

"Do I just stand here and wait until the wetness goes away? Because that seems like it might take a while. Plus, I thought you wanted me to change into different clothes."

"Um, no...use the towel to dry yourself off, silly," Dipper giggled. "And, yes, please put on the clean stuff I gave you." Glancing to his right, he suddenly noticed the hall table with the neatly folded towel and clean clothes he had set there earlier, at the same time Bill began to speak.

"I would sure like to do that, Pine Tree, but those things are not in here," he stated matter-of-factly.

"Yeah, I see that...they're still out here. Sorry, Bill, just...stay behind the curtain and I'll bring them in for you."

"Sure, Pine Tree," he muttered as he pulled the curtain back over.

 _Did he sound... disappointed? No, that would be weird, and creepy ...frustrated, maybe? Yeah, he sounded a bit frustrated just then._

Dipper's mind was awash with suddenly being very perturbed about the tone he thought he picked up on in Bill's voice. He decided to let it go, not wanting to over think the situation like he has a tendency to do, and hoping it was just all in his head. He slowly opened the door and took the two steps necessary to be able to put the towel and clothing onto the counter where Bill could reach them. So keen was he on getting in and back out of the bathroom in a timely manner that he didn't catch on to the fact that there was a naked man standing in the corner behind the door. As the brunet turned to leave, Bill pushed the door shut, stood in front of it, and held a halting hand straight out in front of him, all in one fluid movement. The girly shriek that inevitably came next both startled and humored the blond, causing him to jump slightly and laugh.

"BILL! You scared the-" he paused to catch his breath. "What the heck, man?!"

The poor boy's eyes grew wide with realization and he slapped his hands over his face as he whirled around on his heel to face the opposite direction. He reached out to grab the towel he had just put down and then held it out behind his back to the still very naked man behind him.

"Wrap this around your waist, Bill!" he shrieked as he flailed the now unfolded towel around until it was tugged out of his grip.

Meanwhile, Bill's mind was racing with thoughts of what it was that he did that had Dipper so upset. _I keep doing this to him. What am I even doing wrong?_ He decided to just ask him. Point blank.

"Uh, Pine Tree?" he began as he clumsily brought the towel up to wrap around his torso. "Why do you keep doing that?"

"What?! _Me_? What am _I_ doing?" His defensiveness was getting the better of him. "You're the one who keeps, well...uh...exposing yourself!"

Dipper was clearly reluctant to want to say that out loud, but there really was no way of going around it. He knew that he was being overly dramatic about the whole situation, almost to the point that someone would go to when not wanting to be found out. Almost like he was going out of his way to deny something before even being accused... Something he wasn't ready to admit to...

 _Ugh...calm down, Dipper, he isn't really doing anything wrong..._

Still calm and collected, Bill rephrased his question. "What I mean is, why do you keep getting so upset with me when my clothes are off?" The mere mention of Bill's clothing being off caused Dipper's heart rate to speed up and face to get hot. "See? You're acting all weird again. Your face turns red, and I bet you're even-" he paused and reached out to feel Dipper's face, like he had earlier in the kitchen. The blond's hands were also warm, having just showered, but he could still feel the warmth in the other's cheeks. "Yep! Your face is all warm again!"

 _Yep, I'm definitely the one with the problem here. What the hell is wrong with me?!_

Unlike before, Dipper didn't protest Bill's touch, but just closed his eyes and actually found himself leaning into it a little. He decided not to think too much about the action, as he knew that it didn't mean anything other than innocent curiosity to Bill. Remembering how Dipper had responded last time, though, Bill quickly pulled his hand away, not wanting to make him mad again. The brunet felt the loss, mourning it for just the briefest of seconds, then opened his eyes in time to see the fleeting look of worry on the other's face.

"It's ok, Bill. Really. I have been over reacting a bit. It's just that, well, things like undressing and being naked are things you're supposed to keep to yourself, you know? In private. You keep doing it in front of me and it's just...a bit embarrassing. For me."

Bill's face was now painted with confusion. "Hm...embarrassing..." he repeated as he pondered the unfamiliar emotion. "That's a new one for me, I don't quite get it. Because- we're both boys, right? I mean, don't we both have the same parts?"

"Yeah, w-we do, but... certain areas of human bodies are meant to be kept to yourself, ok?" the brunet responded, still a blush of pink in his face.

"But why? What's the big deal if anyone sees if we all look exactly the same?"

Ugh. It was like trying to reason with a child. A grown-up child who had no background on normal human conventions. Dipper pinched the bridge of his nose and drew in a deep breath.

"It's just something you don't do, ok? So just... make sure you always have pants on, or a towel around your waist when you get out of the shower."

Upon saying those last words, Dipper's eyes unconsciously fell to Bill's lower half. The towel was still there ( _thank goodness_ ) but had slipped down ever so slightly to where it was barely hanging on to his hips. Brown eyes widened in shock. Yes, Bill was just another guy, like himself. He had nicely toned abs, kinda like himself. His skin was unflawed, like his own. But there was something blatantly different. Dipper's mouth dropped a little, and only came out of his lucid bewilderment (?!) when he heard the other speak.

"Hey, Pine Tree?" Bill asked, rather concerned. "Is there something wrong? You're staring at me, and you just got done telling me how we're not supposed to be looking at other people when they're na-"

"Oh! God, sorry!" he quickly apologized as he brought his gaze up to the other's eyes. It was hard not to go back to staring at his mid-section, however. "I'm just shocked...is all. Bill, your body is missing something."

Dipper thought it made perfect sense, actually. Bill wasn't conceived. He didn't spend nine or so months incubating inside another human being to whom he was connected via a permanently attached flesh cord carrying oxygen and nutrients until the day of birth when said cord would be severed off, leaving the connection point on his own body to wither up and fall off, leaving a remarkable scar that would either sink in slightly, or protrude outward. You know, that thing no human being is naturally lacking; that which we have so cleverly dubbed the belly button.

"What?! What's missing?" the blond yelped, as he looked down upon himself, trying to see what was so clearly not there.

His slightly panicked reaction was just cute enough to elicit a small chuckle from Dipper before he reassuringly said, "It's ok, Bill. It's just your belly button. Or, well, your lack of one, actually." Bill scrunched his face, mumbling something about how it was that he was missing a button that was supposed to be attached to his belly. Dipper giggled again. "No, it's not like that. It's kind of like a scar, a spot on our belly that is left behind after we're born."

Bill looked up at him, disappointment now reigning in his eyes. "But...but I wasn't born, was I," he stated, solemnly. "So I'll never have one, or get to see-" he stopped speaking abruptly as his face suddenly lit up. "Wait. That means you have one...right?!" Dipper didn't like where this was going. "Ca-can I see yours?" he hesitantly questioned, hoping he hadn't overstepped the other's oh-so-carefully guarded and diligently outlined boundaries.

Dipper sighed, knowing that Bill was just curious and that it was just a belly button, after all. He lifted his shirt up a bit, just revealing his navel. "See? It's nothing, really, but a scar."

But Bill didn't think it was just nothing. He looked at it with all the fascination of a scientist discovering a new species of insect, or a new planet. He looked down again at his own empty expanse of smooth abdominal skin, running his hand over it. Dipper could almost hear a whiny, spoiled child's demand of 'But, I _want_ one!' come from the dissatisfied look on Bill's face.

"Look at it this way, you are the only person on the planet with no belly button. So that makes you _very_ special! One of a kind, even!" Dipper tried to candy coat it the best way he knew how.

"But I don't want to be special," the blond pouted, still running his fingers over his navel-less skin. "I want to be like you."

Dipper tried not to take that the wrong way, hoping Bill meant special as in 'different' and you as in 'all of the human race'. For some reason, the possibility that Bill meant he, personally, wasn't special didn't sit right with him. Kinda left him feeling a bit, well, sad.

 _Ugh...stop being stupid, Pines_ , he mentally admonished himself.

"Well," he began while nervously rubbing the back of his arm, "Y-you are like everyone else... mostly. It's just that one little thing, a-and nobody will probably even notice."

Bill brought his eyes back up to meet Dipper's, about to say something, but there was suddenly a knock on the bathroom door. Mabel didn't quite catch the conversation they were having, but knew right away that there were definitely _two_ people occupying the bathroom. Her face split in two with a toothy grin. She hovered an eager hand over the pocket containing her phone, but then decided against getting it out. Dipper had been tortured enough today, she reasoned.

"Hey you two!" she exclaimed after the final rap of her knuckles on the door. "You boys havin' fun in there?!"

Dipper immediately flung the door open in a manner screaming that there definitely wasn't anything _fun_ going on behind it. "Mabel!" he scolded for the umpteenth time that day. He quickly turned back to Bill. "Hey, you wanna show Mabel?"

Mabel's face immediately paled. "Uuuhh...show Mabel what?" she questioned, worried for the answer, especially after noticing that Bill was only wearing a towel around his waist...that was barely staying on, at that. Like Dipper had said, though, she never noticed anything missing from the blond's abdomen, though it's only fair to mention that Bill's hand was still covering the area.

Bill just stood there, not sure he wanted anyone else to know about what was different about his body that made him "special". "Oh, come on...it's ok to show her. It's just Mabel. She won't laugh or anything. She'll probably think it's really cool, like me!" Dipper tried to reassure.

Mabel's thoughts were swirling. _I really don't think I want to know what they're talking about... And if that towel comes off, I am so out of here..._

The blond rubbed his hand around his skin a few more times, much like a pregnant woman tends to do over her growing baby within, before shrugging and conceding to Dipper's suggestion. His hand then fell limply to his side.

"So, look at Bill, Mabes. Do you see anything different about him?"

Mabel looked over at Bill, eyes traveling him up and down, but mostly up. She couldn't really see anything that looked out of sorts. "What am I supposed to be looking for?" she questioned both boys. "I saw him this morning, remember? More than I wanted to see..." One more scan over him and she gave up. "I give up. He looks perfectly normal to me."

Dipper smiled. "That's just it! He _is_ perfect. Not a scar on him."

Mabel still looked confused, and was now growing impatient. "Is this some kind of payback for earlier, Dipper? You're gonna play games with me, trying to get me to see something that isn't there?"

"Yes! That's it!" her brother exclaimed. "You can't see it because it's _not there_!" he exclaimed as he motioned to the spot on Bill's mid-section that should have a belly button.

Mabel's eyes suddenly grew wide and her mouth dropped. "Ohmygosh! Oh, that is soooo neat!" She leaned in a bit closer to Bill, reaching out her hand, but then stopped just short of actually touching the empty spot and looked up at him. "Can I?" she asked.

Dipper raised a brow at her strange request. Bill casually nodded his head, wondering to himself why she would possibly want to touch him, but satisfied that she had asked nicely and so didn't think anything bad would come of it. For some reason, she felt like she had to actually feel that there was no belly button there; as if her eyes were somehow deceiving her, but that her sense of touch would prove it to be true.

She slowly closed the distance and ran her fingers over the smooth skin. Stating the obvious, she blurted out, "Wow! It's really not there! Dipper, why doesn't he have one?" she questioned, suddenly concerned, like a mother who had just found out her newborn baby was missing a toe.

Dipper explained his previous thoughts to her as she continued to feel around Bill's tummy, as if doing it long enough would result in finding it, after all. She found Dipper's theory to be quite sound, accepting it as solid truth.

When Bill began to squirm a little, Mabel apologized and backed away. She was now standing shoulder to shoulder with her twin, to whom she leaned her head to the side and whispered, "He has _really_ soft skin, Dipper...did you feel it? It's like a baby's!"

Dipper's first response to this was a sharp tug on his sister's arm in the direction of the door. "No, I didn't," he whispered back. Then, speaking louder so all who were present could hear, "Now, let's go so Bill can get dressed, shall we?!" He hastily ushered himself and his sister out the door and up the stairs.

The blond left behind just blinked once, shrugged, and proceeded to dress himself.

' _He_ is _perfect.'_ He smiled as he remembered these words Dipper spoke during the exchange with his sister.

 _Thanks, Pine Tree. I think_ you _are perfect, too._


	5. Chapter 5 The Bedfellow Stranger

**Hi all. Sorry, it's been a while, I know. Summers are tough. Please see notes at the end of this chapter for an important piece of info regarding this fic.**

 **The Bedfellow** **Stranger**

"Good night, Bill! Good night, Dip-Dop!"

"Good night, Mabes. Night, Bill."

... ...

"Um, am I supposed to say something now?" Bill asked, hesitantly. He wasn't quite sure of himself, but thought that since the twins had both said that, maybe he was to do the same, and that if he didn't, he would be violating some highly important bed time ritual.

A girly giggle came from his left; Mabel's side of the room. "Naw, you don't have to. It's just something we tell each other when we're ready to go to sleep."

"Oh. Ok, then. Good night, Star! Good night, Pine Tree."

Bill snuggled down into his makeshift bed that was made up on the floor between the twins. It amounted to more of a pile of blankets layered atop one another; hardly a decent bed at all. Mabel was sure to fret about it for at least the duration of time she was still awake, until the blissful ignorance of sleep carried her thoughts away to the land of boy bands and brightly colored everything.

The newly human demon was none the worse for wear, however, and was quite happy with this arrangement. Shooting Star was to his left, and Pine Tree to his right. All was right with his world. He closed his eyes, pulled in a deep breath, and waited for sleep to take him.

Except, it didn't. Or wouldn't. He could not, for the life of him, figure out why his mind failed to enter the unconsciousness it must have found the previous night when he had closed his eyes and opened them to find that there had been a significant passage of time. That was not happening now. This time, when he opened his eyes, no time seemed to have passed at all, let alone the few seconds that actually had.

 _Heh...time. It's a funny thing. Necessary and yet totally unreliable. One would almost think a big baby were in charge of it._

He laid there with his thoughts for a little while, his mind mostly wandering to the memories he had. There were so many holes; things he couldn't see. Things that maybe he didn't want to see. So many questions that he wanted answers to, but at the same time, didn't.

Suddenly, he felt his whole body shudder, startled by a sudden awareness. Of what, he wasn't sure. His eyes opened at the same time. Had he been asleep? _When did that happen? And why does it feel like there's-_

Bill froze. A pair of shiny black orbs gleaned a short distance away from him. White slits glowed from their centers. As per usual with any human body, adrenaline and other such chemicals began to pump through the veins now running in overdrive as his heart worked overtime in reaction to the nervous system's message of fear that was so clearly relayed to his brain. Though, he tried to reason to himself that this particular situation really didn't warrant fear, at the moment. He hadn't seen these eyes before, so there was no reason to be afraid of them. He wasn't being physically harmed by their presence, so again, no need to be fearful.

As these thoughts began to slow the human instinct's fight or flight processes, Bill began to relax once again. He blinked a few times, wondering if the eyes above him were just his imagination. After the final blink, they were, indeed, gone. Before he had time to suck in a sigh of relief, however, he suddenly found himself surrounded by blue flames.

He sat up in panic, watching as the circle around him came closer, igniting his blankets and even super-heating the floor boards beneath him. It was like someone had turned on the comforting warmth of heated floor tiles to greet their bare feet on a cold winter's morning...only this was far from comforting.

It was hot. Uncomfortably hot. _Too hot!_

"PINE TREE!" he instinctively called out for whom he felt would comfort him most. Pine Tree would help him. He wouldn't let the fire consume him.

In the next moment, before the heat became too intense, before it actually could lick at his exposed flesh, Bill woke up. He shot straight up, taking in sharp breaths and looking around the room, eyes wide. Beads of sweat had built up on his skin, moistening his night clothes, and even the blankets around him. Though his surface temperature was quite warm, he found that he was actually very cold and began shaking. Blankets were quickly snatched and he wrapped them around himself tightly, but they did nothing to quell the inner cold he felt.

Dim, silvery moonlight was illuminating the room enough for him to see that both twins were sound asleep in their beds, unaware of the traumatized Bill Cipher on the floor. He would have to change that. At least for one of them. And he knew just which twin he would choose to share his trauma with.

Dipper was asleep on the outside edge of his bed, one leg practically dangling off the side. He usually slept on his right side, but had managed to fall asleep on his left this night, most likely a subconscious effort to keep his eyes pointed in Bill's direction, should anything strange happen in the night. He was a light sleeper, after all. He would hear anything; wake up at the slightest of movement coming from the floor.

Yeah, keep tellin' yourself that, Dip.

Bill regarded the sleeping form of the brunet as he stood at the foot of the bed before climbing in under the covers and lying down, back against the wall. He was still shivering slightly; still felt the cold like its source was deep within his bones. He decided to inch closer...closer, until he was able to nuzzle into soft brown curls. His right arm reached over and pulled the sleeping form even closer. Finally, warmth he could feel.

Mocha eyes shot open at the realization that there was a body next to his... _in_ his bed... _under_ his covers... _touching_ him. He relaxed, though, as he realized that a certain someone must have had a bad dream again and had crawled into bed with him. It hadn't happened for a while, more so when they were kids, but still did on occasion. Heavy eyelids fell shut again.

"Mm-d'ja have a bad dream 'gain?" Dipper mumbled through groggy sleepiness. He grabbed hold of the hand attached to the arm wrapped around him. "E're gettin' kinda ol' fer this, doncha think?" He patted the hand, then rubbed small circles on it. "Hm...ya gots really sof skin, Mabes...whatcha usin'-"

"Thanks, Pine Tree," Bill quietly whispered back. "Now, are ya done talkin'? Cuz I'd like to sleep now." He yawned as his own heavy eyelids slid shut.

 _oh..._

 _My..._

 _GAWD!_

Dipper was now wide awake.

"Bill! What the ever-lovin' _Fuck_ are you doing?!" he whisper-shouted as he sat up and turned to the blond guy in his bed. Bill barely moved a muscle, eyes still closed.

"Language, Pine Tree," Bill whispered back as he smiled at the memory of Shooting Star scolding her brother earlier for use of that same word.

"Wha- language? Seriously?! You. Are in. MY BED!" the frustrated brunet groaned, trying not to wake his sister, who, thank all the gods, was still fast asleep on the other side of the room. He did NOT need this little state of affairs memorialized for all eternity on the internet.

Seeing that Bill made no move to vacate his current place of slumber, Dipper grabbed his pillow and whacked him in the head with it. That pointed gesture of disapproval quickly backfired, however, when the recipient of the action reached out and swiftly tucked the soft item under his own head.

"Thanks, Pine Tree. This is much better."

"No! I wasn't... Bill!" the brunet huffed. He then decided he should probably just calm down (because he was just getting all flustered over having been rudely woken up, not at all because there was a cute blond guy currently sharing his bed) and so took a deep breath before continuing. "Ok- just...what happened? Why aren't you in your own bed?"

Bill suddenly looked up at Dipper, deep blue eyes sullen and almost fearful. "I think I had a night- nightmare. Someone, or something, wa- was watching me. And I was cold- so, so cold. A-and you... You made me feel safe- and warm."

Dipper's first reaction upon hearing these somber words from Bill Cipher was that of pity. He couldn't help but feel bad for the guy. The _guy_. _Huh, more like the dream demon from whom all nightmares originate. I can't believe I'm actually feeling bad for him..._

"Well, you can't stay here, Bill. You need to go back to your own bed."

"But why? I want to stay here where it's safe and warm," Bill whined.

Dipper could feel a tension headache coming on. "Because, Bill. This is my bed, and you can't just sleep in it with me. It was just a dream, it can't hurt you, and you'll be perfectly safe." The brunet was trying to sufficiently argue his point, but had a bad feeling he wouldn't be getting through to the overgrown adolescent next to him.

"Pine Tree...please...please don't make me go back by myself," Bill murmured, looking up at Dipper with sincere fear in his eyes.

 _Ah, hell...he's freaking begging! I would be one heartless bastard if I made him leave. It's just one night, I'm not even going to argue...cuz that'll lead to Mabel waking up and... ain't nobody got time for that right now!_ Dipper sighed loudly. "Fine. You can stay the rest of tonight. And ONLY tonight, got it? We are NOT making a habit of this. And give me my pillow back."

He rolled off the side of the bed, snatched up Bill's pillow from off the floor, and threw it at his side of the bed. _Holy crap, I did not just think of that as_ his _side of the bed! It's ALL my side!_ He slid back under the covers and tried not to think about what he was doing, not that his mind would cooperate. _Just one night...it's only one time, and we're only sleeping...it's just sleeping._

He lay on his back, staring up at the ceiling, mind wandering to places he would never openly admit to, when he suddenly felt the other scoot up next to him. His body tensed up, not unlike a prey animal that just realized it was being hunted would, at what he deemed to be a horribly invasive motion.

But the blond lay innocently on his side, staring at the brunet with a look that Dipper couldn't quite read. Was it appreciation? Relief? Adoration? No. Bill Cipher was _not_ looking at him with adoration...was he? Again, Dipper let out a sigh, turning ever-so-slightly in the other's direction, but not so much as to be directly face to face. This action caused the blond's features to once again fall into that which could only be represented by a harshly admonished puppy.

"What is it, Bill?" Dipper questioned softly, his rigid form somewhat relaxing after telling himself for the umpteenth time that day to relax, because this was a childishly naïve Bill Cipher, not the demonic, one-eyed, three-sided geometric shape of terror he used to be.

Bill hesitated before finally responding with a sheepish, "A-are you mad at me, Pine Tree?"

"Why would I be mad, Bill?" the teen replied casually, all the while trying really hard to not think of every reason he did have for being mad at the ex-dream demon from several years ago.

"Well, you did make it very clear that you like your personal space, and you are kind of upset that I am this close to you now, but I can't help it because you are helping me to feel secure and warm and I know it's bothering you but-"

"Ok! Ok!" the brunet cut in before the other could say any more. "I'm not mad, Bill. Uncomfortable? Yes, a little. Ok, a lot. But not mad. Again, you haven't done anything wrong, and I'm just being a little over-dramatic about everything. I know you are new to this human thing and all the emotions that go along with it and you're probably just scared right now, but you'll get used to it eventually and will learn how to deal with it on your own. So then, just relax now and go to sleep, ok? There will be plenty of time to talk about this more tomorrow..." He trailed off as he suddenly became very aware that there had been no reaction from the other for several moments.

Now that he had stopped whispering, the sound of soft, slow, steady breathing floated over to him, affirming the realization he had just come to: Bill was asleep.

Mabel Pines had the scrapbookatunity of a lifetime lying, quite literally, in front of her, and there was absolutely no way in hell she would pass this one up. Maybe, if she played her cards right, and she pretty much always did, she would end up on the receiving end of a few little favors à la Dipper Pines, and certainly not because she planned on using his currently scandalous position in bed beside one Bill Cipher against him as the several dozen clicks of her camera phone now insured she would have plenty of ammunition to do just that. _Pffft...blackmail? I would never!_

She silently snuck out of the room and down the stairs to admire her new found wealth via the many pictures she had just taken in private. First things first, though- copies. _Sooo many copies!_

The younger Pines twin awoke to find he had unwittingly taken the role of the "little spoon" with his involuntarily acquired bedmate. Bill was pushed snug up against him from behind, face buried nose-deep in a tangled mess of russet curls, one long arm wrapped around his waist and bent at the elbow to allow a hand to grip the top of his t-shirt in a choke-hold of sorts, as if its owner feared the body inside said shirt would try to get away.

"Uh...Bill?" he tried, figuring he could talk the other out of his rigid hold on him. Nary a response was to be had from the blond. Dipper tried to pull the hand from his shirt. He was met with the opposite effect. The grip only tightened. "Bill!" he whisper-shouted, hoping he hadn't woken his sister.

A half-assed muffled "Mm..." was all he got in response this time, but at least he was getting somewhere.

"Bill, you really need to let go of my shirt, and then MOVE OVER," Dipper tried to demand, but it came out sounding more like a desperate plea.

In his mind, he truly was begging for this situation to be over, like, yesterday. He reasoned that if there was no positive compliance from Bill, and very soon, he would have to resort to remedying his uncomfortable position by any means possible, even if that meant having to slip out of his own shirt in order to get away.

Dipper didn't even want to begin to think about what Mabel would do with this little scenario. His peripheral sight had caught the semblance of a sleeping form still inhabiting the bed on the other side of the room. He thought optimistic enough of this to not actually go out of his way to directly verify it, something that, in hindsight, he would very much regret.

After some struggle with strong-gripped fingers, and a few whispered curses, the brunet finally won his freedom. As he rose from the bed and was about to check on his sister's ultimate sleep status, a few pouty whines emanated from the remaining denizen of his bed signaling their dissatisfaction at the sudden loss. Unfortunately, it was just enough of a (~A _w, cute!_ was what he actually thought) distraction that Dipper forgot all about his twin, choosing instead to revel in the fact that another living, breathing life form would react in such a way to his absence.

"Come on, Bill, you should get up, too. I'll make us all something special for breakfast." He turned and opened the bedroom door adding, "I make the best-", but immediately cut himself off as the wafting scent of baked goods invaded his nostrils on the uptake of a new breath. "Shit!"

Bill blinked a few times and sat up rather hastily at this strange remark. "You make the best...shit? But I thought that was the derogatory word people used for-" He was suddenly cut off by a rather distressed, and almost equally disgusted, Dipper.

"No! That's not what I meant- UGH! This means that..." He looked over at his sister's side of the room, only to see that the form he thought he saw earlier was merely her blankets bunched up and half way over her pillow, making it appear like she was still there, but in reality, not. _Kill me now._ The poor teen face palmed at the realization that his sister had, indeed, awoken before him; the action quickly followed up by a rapid increase in his pulse, and beads of sweat suddenly forming on his brow.

"Oooh, your face looks hot again," the blond observed from the bed.

"Shut up, Bill."

Dipper turned back again to exit his room and began to plod down the hall, down the stairs, as a death row inmate walking towards his imminent termination. His own, personal fate, he imagined, would be much, much worse than any form of execution method ever used, either presently or long ago.

 **So, I've decided to stop updating this fic on this site. This is the last chapter I'll update here. It will be on AO3 from now on. Search by title and fandom.**


End file.
